We had a great first day filming medieval reenactments of the the 1315/16 Bruce Siege at Carrickfergus Castle with Irish Arms. These scenes will be used in the latter part of the Siege! app when the user mush decide how best to defend the castle against Edward Bruce’s Scottish attack. 

I researched Robert Bruce’s campaign in Scotland to devise possible Scottish military tactics. Where the Anglo-Normans favoured large siege engines and pitched battles, Bruce’s Scottish army preferred guerilla-style tactics including ambush and escalade. I devised a number of possible Scottish attack scenarios including  storming the gate with battering ram, escalade, treachery, and mining. I used the defensive structure of the castle to plan the corresponding Norman defence.   The Earl of Ulster’s men would have defended the castle from the battlements with long-bows and rocks and from the sea tower with cross-bows.

Thanks to Gail Pollack for some great pictures of the day. Medieval reenactment really brought the castle to life and it was great to see all the researching and planning come to fruition.